Why can't I get a job in Austin? (Houston, Dallas: apartment, crime)

[winkosmosis]

Originally Posted by passionatearts

I completely agree. What's the point in getting a fancy degree in a subject that requires many years of study if you're not willing to go where the jobs are in your field?

My degree isn't petroleum engineering-- It's geography. There are some GIS jobs in Austin but I can't even get an interview.

[AK123]

Originally Posted by winkosmosis

I don't exaggerate about Houston.

Yes, you do. Sorry.

[radiolibre99]

But GIS and a geology degree from UT would set you up in Houston very well. Why pass that up for some quality of lifestyle you think Austin will offer?

Houston is not that bad. It isn't LA or NYC or even Austin but its still a cut above the rest in terms of living out a really nice young professional life.

Why do you hate Houston so much, winkmosis?

[sxrckr]

Originally Posted by winkosmosis

I don't exaggerate about Houston. I'm just more in touch with the reality of Houston than most people there.

I didn't say Hawaii is dull, though there is a lot less stuff to do than Central Texas.

Uh huh. Okay.

[sxrckr]

Originally Posted by radiolibre99

But GIS and a geology degree from UT would set you up in Houston very well. Why pass that up for some quality of lifestyle you think Austin will offer?

Houston is not that bad. It isn't LA or NYC or even Austin but its still a cut above the rest in terms of living out a really nice young professional life.

Austin is not in the league with those places. As an Austinite I say that. Houston has more in common with those, generally.

But I think he is dead-set against it, there is no reasoning with him on it so why waste your time with someone who claims everyone who lives there is out of touch with reality (e.g. delusional) while he's "right"?

[radiolibre99]

Originally Posted by sxrckr

Austin is not in the league with those places. As an Austinite I say that. Houston has more in common with those, generally.

But I think he is dead-set against it, there is no reasoning with him on it so why waste your time with someone who claims everyone who lives there is out of touch with reality (e.g. delusional) while he's "right"?

That's interesting. As an Austinite you would say Houston has more in common with LA and NYC? I figured Austin cus its more of a hip city on the cusp of being world renown. Houston still seems very practical and business oriented.

I'm curious as to what gives you the impression that us Austin is still lacking? What are its peer cities?

[winkosmosis]

Originally Posted by radiolibre99

But GIS and a geology degree from UT would set you up in Houston very well. Why pass that up for some quality of lifestyle you think Austin will offer?

Houston is not that bad. It isn't LA or NYC or even Austin but its still a cut above the rest in terms of living out a really nice young professional life.

Why do you hate Houston so much, winkmosis?

Here's why I hate Houston:

1) Severely lacking in outdoors opportunities. It can't even come close to the Hill Country for hiking and mountain biking trails, swimming holes, etc.

2) Long commutes if you live anywhere affordable.

3) Serious crime. It's one of the sex trafficking capitols (along with NYC and LA) due to its size, large number of illegal immigrants, organized crime activity, and poorly policed ghettos.

4) Not only is there serious crime, but police do not care. One time leaving work I heard somebody scream loudly. I called the police and they didn't even understand why I was calling. The next day the security guards at the building said they didn't even see the police come by. In the words of a family friend who was a police officer, "There are a lot of lazy cops". By comparison, the Harris County Sheriffs are superstars. One time at my apartments we had a suspicious SUV idling in the parking lot for 3 hours, so I called HCS and within minutes 3 cars were there. Then they even called back to let me know the guy checked out OK, he was just sleeping in his car because his wife kicked him out.

5) The nice urban neighborhoods are directly adjacent to the bad parts of the city. So when you do hear or see something suspicious you have every reason to believe it actually is serious. Besides that, the general feeling of seediness is just plain depressing.

6) Culture that celebrates mediocrity. This is behind a lot of the problems in Houston. It's why there's no willingness to build commuter rail or improve existing mass transit. It's not a city that sees the need to improve, because it's convinced that the oil boom fueling its growth automatically makes it the best city ever. Others have made the same observation.

7) Radio. I love music, especially being introduced to new stuff by good DJs, and I listen to the radio all day. Houston has terrible radio because the market is dominated by Clearchannel. There's no longer a classic rock station, there's no station that plays Texas Americana and country aside from Open Spaces on KPFT). The dial is all rap (bad rap), Tejano, regaton, and top 40.

8) Disregard for workers' rights seems to be part of corporate culture in the oil industry. I was an "independent contractor" which cost me thousands in taxes. I had no idea that was illegal, and neither did any of the other "contractors". It also meant I got no unemployment benefits when I my position was eliminated due to taking too much time off after my dad died last year. That's one of the main reasons I took my current job in Hawaii. Because I had no income and had to live off the money I saved for taxes, I didn't even have the choice to wait for a higher paid job. Oh BTW that also means I'll be paying off my tax bill from last year for years. So why on earth would I want to work in Houston again?

9) The suburbs are in decline. I lived in a close suburb with only a 1 hour commute to downtown (LOL). The grocery stores had very little good produce. Payday loan places and burner cell phone shops were popping up everywhere.

10) No bluebonnets

[sxrckr]

Originally Posted by radiolibre99

That's interesting. As an Austinite you would say Houston has more in common with LA and NYC? I figured Austin cus its more of a hip city on the cusp of being world renown. Houston still seems very practical and business oriented.

I'm curious as to what gives you the impression that us Austin is still lacking? What are its peer cities?

I don't really care to here as there have been several recent threads on Austin's lack of big-city amenities. It is what it is.
It's not all just about being "hip" as that can go up and down over time and trends.

[winkosmosis]

Lots of reasons to live in Austin too.

1) My best friends live in Austin

2) All the outdoors activities I enjoy or want to take up are close by and convenient. Almost every weekend last summer I went to Austin and went hiking and swimming. I didn't fully appreciate how nice a place to live it is until last year.

3) Progressive values and culture

4) Young people in Austin are more likely to be hipsters than yuppies like you find in Houston. Especially important now that I'm almost 30 and still single. I can't keep wasting time with people who are incompatible with my values and interests. That's a downside of both Houston and Maui. I'm not into the whole clubbing 50k-millionaire BMW driving thing, I'm into the live Americana music musclecar driving thing.

5) For $200k I can buy a house in one of the Northern suburbs and have a 45 minute commute by train to downtown, or an even shorter commute to an office in North Austin.

[winkosmosis]

Originally Posted by sxrckr

I don't really care to here as there have been several recent threads on Austin's lack of big-city amenities. It is what it is.
It's not all just about being "hip" as that can go up and down over time and trends.

It's precisely because Austin isn't like NYC, LA, and Houston that I love it. Quality of life SUCKS in big cities. They mainly function based on mass cognitive dissonance.